


Wallflower

by Tillyalf427



Series: HiyoIku Summer Weekends 2020 [8]
Category: Free!
Genre: 22nd August: Flower Shop AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Barista Serizawa Nao, Barista Tono Hiyori, Coffee Shops, First Meetings, Florist Kirishima Ikuya, Flowers, HiyoIku Summer Weekends 2020, M/M, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26031415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tillyalf427/pseuds/Tillyalf427
Summary: Ikuya is a florist who promotes his business mostly through social media with a completely healthy relationship with coffee who happens to meet Hiyori who is a barista with a less than great social life.Or the HiyoIku flower shop/coffee shop/social media AU that no one asked for
Relationships: Kirishima Ikuya/Tono Hiyori, Kirishima Natsuya/Serizawa Nao
Series: HiyoIku Summer Weekends 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794115
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. ▫ 1 ▫

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, I made a fic like this a couple of months ago where people had trouble seeing the pictures so I'm trying something different this time and have uploaded all the photos for it on Pinterest first just in case they don't work again and anyone wants to read it before I manage to fix things. I'll leave a link for the Pinterest board but if anyone has trouble with the photos please tell me and I will try my best to fix it! :))))  
> Pinterest link: https://pin.it/6DSyWAz  
> I've made a playlist to go along with this fic which sorta has a bunch of songs which give off the vibe I was going for and hopefully achieved which I'll put a link to the playlist/list of the songs in the end notes.  
> I'm also going to include a list of links for the photos used at the end too and I hope everyone enjoys.  
> I've got four chapters planned and mostly written for this so the rest of it will be up within the next few weeks or so depending on when I have time to proofread and upload photos and stuff :)))

Hiyori knew that he wasn't supposed to be on his phone during his shift.

It was one of the rules of the job, apparently, it came off as unprofessional to potential customers, however, the only person who enforced that rule was his boss who it was very rare to see actually in the cafe.

None of the managers minded and especially not Nao who was working the shift with him, someone who Hiyori had quickly become friends with when he had started working here, despite Nao being a couple of years older than himself.

And so, he continued mindlessly scrolling through his Instagram page, always keeping one eye on the door in case a customer decided to take pity on them and come in to order.

His explore page was more or less the same as always, with posts from usual accounts that he interacted with mixed in with some new accounts, one of which happened to catch his eye, something that didn't happen all too often

The brightly coloured flowers made it stand out against the other monotonous posts and he found his finger clicking on it absentmindedly and scrolling down to see the caption, his interest effectively captured as he scrolled down further to see more posts from the same account, all of which were similar in nature.

Many of the posts were bouquets of brightly coloured flowers with the occasional landscape or sunset scattered amongst them, leading Hiyori to believe that it must be a business page and, although he had never considered floristry to be an interest of his, he found himself intrigued by how something so simple could also catch his interest so easily.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to think about it as the bell hanging above the door rung, signalling someone entering, urging him to lock his phone which he placed face down on the counter before heading over to the coffee machines preparing to make the drinks as Nao greeted the customers and took their orders.

He assumed that Nao must have known the taller of the two customers, if the long-winded conversation they were having was anything to go by and Hiyori let his eyes wander to the second customer who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

He played with the sleeves of the white hoodie he was wearing, blinking slowly as if he was about to fall asleep where he stood, with long strands of teal hair falling in front of his eyes and Hiyori felt a small smile tugging at his lips at the sight.

He clearly needed some caffeine.

Luckily, the gods must have heard the customers unspoken wish as Nao finally interrupted the current conversation topic to take their orders.

He watched as the taller male, who Nao had been talking to nudged his...friend? out of his daze.

"Ikuya, what are you ordering?"

"A medium pistachio latte please," The words seemed almost slurred and Hiyori moved to start making the drink, keeping an ear out for the rest of the order.

"You were up all night again?" Nao asked, presumably to the one who was quite clearly exhausted. He hummed in response and Hiyori felt his curiosity spike as to why that could be. "You need to stop that, it's not good for you. Now, Natsuya what are you ordering, I'm sure Hiyori's getting sick of waiting for you,"

Okay so it was true that he had finished up the first drink, placing it on the counter before them and was now waiting to make the second order, however, he wouldn't quite word it how Nao had. After all, once they left he would be back to standing around without even the hope of something to do so he wasn't about to complain.

He glanced over at Nao and the customer who was practically glaring holes into the menu board, seemingly unable to decide before sighing and choosing the first thing on the menu. He felt eyes following him as he turned once more to make the second order, already guessing who they belonged to without having to turn around, somehow finding it strangely reassuring rather than scrutinising. It was so different from the impatient customers they often got in who would glare daggers into his back and sigh at periodic intervals to let him know (Like he could forget) that they were _still_ waiting, despite the fact that it had been a maximum of two minutes since they placed their order.

He finished up the order and turned to place it on the counter, noticing the speed that the eyes locked on him ripped themselves away and giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile before turning to wipe down the machine and the counter whilst Nao finished up his conversation with a promise to meet up later.

He waved goodbye before turning back to Hiyori once more.

"And we're back to doing absolutely nothing,"

Hiyori sighed in agreement before letting a grin slip onto his face

"You didn't ask a friend to come in just for something to do did you?"

"Yeah right," Nao scoffed "If I invited him he'd never leave. Besides they were most likely only here because of Ikuya,

"I think that was fairly obvious,"

"He's going to end up sick if he carries on," Nao shook his head in exasperation "They're new to the area so Ikuya's getting more orders in, clearly no one ever taught him about a work-life balance," He sighed, checking the clock above the menu board "It's only three,"

"You're kidding?"

"I wish,"

It was the biggest problem of working in a relatively small coffee shop. Weekends were never so bad, with them being fairly near the centre of town, however, during the week, they would often spend hours with no customers in, making almost all profit from two bursts of customers before and after the traditional workday with a small number of customers at lunch.

Hiyori let out another exasperated sigh

"I'm going to rewrite the specials board,"

"It was only done yesterday,"

"I don't care, doing nothing is killing me,"

Nao let out a laugh of agreement as Hiyori rummaged through the shelf below the till to grab the chalk pens used on the board.

And because Hiyori is the perfectionist he is, he managed to waste over an hour writing and rewriting out the drinks and their descriptions in fancy, over-exaggerated fonts until it was worthy to be uploaded to sites such as Instagram and Pinterest.

And just as he had planned, by the time he had finished, the streets were beginning to flood with school children and office workers and everything in between with many filing in through the door, finally giving them something productive to do.

The rush of customers was a welcome relief from having nothing to do and he found himself enjoying the busyness of it all, switching between taking and making orders with practised ease until the crowds began to die down, leaving only a few stray customers coming in later on.

It was a few hours later, the evening cool with a relaxing breeze in the air when they began getting ready to close. Hiyori grimaced as he glanced around at what needed to be done, turning to Nao with a tired expression

"Well today has been eventful," Hiyori sighed "Not,"

Nao hummed in agreement "There's tough competition in the area now though. Maybe we should take some notes from them?"

"I could check some out next time I have an essay to write?" Hiyori offered with a laugh "Anytime I come here to write essays whoever is working never stops talking, I never get anything done,"

"Well, I for one would leave you to your sad essay writing,"

"How considerate,"

"I know right," Nao joked "Now come on let's clean down so we can get out of here early,"

The process of cleaning down after the few remaining customers had left was always peaceful, comfortable as they wiped down the tables and swept the floor ready to be mopped and took the coffee machines apart to be washed and put back together.

The lack of customers made it acceptable for them to talk louder, making the entire process much more enjoyable and soon enough, they had finished cleaning down, with each and every surface wiped down and dried and the floors swept and mopped. The mugs and glasses were all neatly lined up and the takeout cups and lids stacked neatly on the shelf and, after one last check to ensure everything was clean and in the correct place, they grabbed their jackets to leave, Nao ensuring to lock everything up behind them before they said their goodbyes and began heading to their respective apartments.

As he walked through the busy streets, weaving through the crowds and trying not to accidentally bump into anyone who would likely scream at him despite it being a simple mistake, he thought over his plans for the rest of the week, thinking over what classes he had and when he would quite likely have an essay to write and mentally scheduling in time to visit some of the other cafes in town.

By the time he reached his apartment, it was too late to really do anything and so, he flopped down on the sofa after kicking his shoes off at the door, unlocking his phone and immediately being greeted by his Instagram explore page, one of the flower photos from before still on his screen which he quickly exited, opening up the notifications tab and scrolling through the new ones absentmindedly before returning to the homepage and refreshing the screen.

He supposed he should probably go and shower and get changed before cooking something to eat, having to drag himself up now that he had sat down.

It would be better than mindlessly scrolling through Instagram at least.

It was a couple of days later that he had been set an essay, due in a weeks time and he figured it would be a good time to visit a cafe nearby the university he attended which had only recently opened.

They were said to have some unique drinks which were surprisingly good and, upon numerous recommendations, he had decided that he would start on his essay there.

Once his classes for the day had ended, he packed his laptop away, slinging the bag over his shoulder as he headed out of the classroom and pulling up a map on his phone to check the cafe's location before he started walking.

It turned out to only be a couple of blocks away and he reached it in just over five minutes, glancing in through the window as he walked past to admire the colour scheme and overall design of the cafe, letting a small smile slip onto his face as he pushed the door open and approached the counter to order.

Despite the fact that it was still mid-afternoon, there was a queue which he joined the back of, unlike where he worked where it would have been deadly silent at this time. Instead, it was bustling with life, the atmosphere friendly and comforting and Hiyori found himself humming along absentmindedly to the song playing until it was his turn to order.

After looking over the menu for a minute, he settled on a hot chocolate, figuring it would be the best choice if he wanted to keep his sleep schedule somewhat normal before taking a seat near the window, shrugging his bag off his shoulder and placing it on the floor after pulling out his notes and notebook.

He started working as soon as possible, looking up briefly and thanking the barista who brought his drink but otherwise continued working, determined to get through his essay tonight and it was only after almost half an hour that he remembered his drink, setting down his pen and lifting the cup to his lips.

And he definitely had to admit, they had some nice drinks here.

There was a rich undertone to it and it wasn't too sweet, much to Hiyori's satisfaction and the milk was frothy on top, topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of syrup, most of which was gone by this point and he figured that whilst he was here, he might as well take some photos for his Instagram account.

After contemplating the now less than appealing drink before him, he looked around, eyes being drawn to the shelving on the walls, filled with various decor, some of which coffee-related along with plants and various different lights and unique trinkets.

He pulled up the camera app on his phone, moving around a bit to find a position which gave good lighting before snapping a couple of photos and settling down in his seat once more. The essay sat half-finished, ignored for the time being as Hiyori opened up his gallery, swiping through the pictures he had taken and decided which one was the clearest with the best lighting before opening it in his usual editing app to add a filter.

After saving the changes he had made, he opened up Instagram, selecting the photo he had taken to upload and writing out a quick caption, tagging the cafe's account and adding relevant tags before uploading it. His eyes followed the loading bar across the top of his screen as the photo uploaded until it had filled up and his feed refreshed with his new post at the top.

And of course, he had to let himself get distracted, clicking on the explore tag and scrolling through, not even sparing a glance at his essay for the time being. A small break wouldn't hurt, would it?

Or at least that was what he had thought before his attention was caught by another post, much like the one which he had seen the other day. A bouquet filled with various pinks, oranges and reds with green leaves and other decorations scattered amongst the roses to break up the warmer colours.

And much like the other day, Hiyori got sucked into the posts, scrolling down further to see more posts like it before finally taking note of the username, noticing that it was the same one from the other day.

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

And so, he clicked on the username above the photo, eyes scanning the brief bio with a strange sense of familiarity washing over him for some unknown reason which he simply brushed off, scrolling further down and clicking the most recent post, the one he had just seen on his explore page.

He let his mind wander as he looked through the posts and tapping his screen to like the posts, finding a smile growing on his face as he read the captions.

It was endearing how this person, _Ikuya_ , managed to show his personality through his posts and Hiyori found it genuinely enjoyable to scroll through his account, completely losing track of time and forgetting all about his essay.

It was only once he had scrolled back a whole year that he realised he may be being a bit weird about this.

What on earth would they think, seeing notifications from a stranger who had practically stalked their account for the past hour or so?

He shook his head and decided to finally focus back on his work, pressing the blue follow button before locking his phone, determined to finish the first draft of his essay before he left.

And so, he decided to shove his phone back into his bag, grabbing his pen and letting his eyes roam over what he had already written to refresh his memory, letting out a quiet groan at the part of his brain which focused on the brightly coloured floral arrangements rather than the words before him.

He let out a groan, reaching out for his drink only to find it had long since gone cold, letting out a grimace at the cold liquid in his mouth.

This was going to be a long night...


	2. ◽ 2 ◽

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been meaning to upload this for the past few days but I've been busy working on another fic but now that it's finished I figured I should probably upload this before working for days on end....yayyy :))))))

Ikuya groaned for what felt like the millionth time that night, standing up from his previous position sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor and stretching his arms above his head, feeling something in his back popping at the action and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he lazily made his way over to the kitchen.

His legs felt as if they were made of wood with how long he had sat in the same position and it seemed no amount of awkward stretching would help as he made his way over to the sink to splash some water onto his face in a desperate attempt to keep himself awake.

The digital clock displayed on the front of the oven showed that it had just turned twelve which explained the darkness outside the windows which Ikuya had failed to take notice of previously as he straightened up once more, looking around for something to dry his face with.

The cold water failed to really do anything to wake him up and he felt a yawn threatening to escape as he trudged back towards the living room floor where he had practically set up camp earlier in the day, wincing when he took note of the two finished bouquets set off to the side.

_Two down, four more to go._

He sighed and flopped down once more, his knees aching in protest and his back barely supporting him as he leaned over to grab the roll of floral tape lying on the coffee table beside a now empty mug.

Whoever had decided to order six wedding bouquets the day before the wedding clearly had no regard for his health however at this point in time, he had no room to complain much. After all, he and Natsuya had only recently moved to Tokyo and so, any of his previous regulars who would order bouquets for a number of events were now too far out for it to be practical, meaning he was pretty much starting afresh.

And honestly, he'd forgotten just how hard it had been when he had just started out.

With a shake of his head, he turned back to the buckets filled with different types of flowers, all following the requested colour scheme as he began work on the next bouquet, starting by removing any foliage or thorns on the stems.

It was after a countless number of nicks and cuts from the thorns and even a few times he had slipped with the shears out of pure exhaustion that he heard the key in the lock as Natsuya stumbled into the apartment.

Natsuya had begun working shifts at a nearby bar so he often got home at ridiculous times like now and although it wasn't often, he had come home to see Ikuya still working too many times to be comfortable with despite how many times he had told the younger to get to sleep on time.  
"Ikuya," Natsuya chided gently as he slipped his shoes off and entered the apartment fully "What have I told you about working so late?"

Ikuya only sighed in response, holding two bunches of flowers in his hands and staring at the quizzingly.

"I know, I know," He lowered both hands and turned to look at Natsuya "I wasn't going to but someone placed an order for a wedding tomorrow, they need six bouquets," And before Natsuya could even think to criticise how stupid he was for accepting the order, Ikuya was holding up both small bunches of flowers "I'm so tired I can't decide which arrangement looks better for the centre, thoughts?"

Natsuya shook his head in exasperation as he had flopped down on the sofa behind Ikuya.

"Have you even eaten?" The only response he got was a shake of the head "Okay, I'll tell you what," He stood again with his hands on his knees "I'm going to go to the coffee shop down the road and gets us some drinks yeah, then when I get back you're going to eat,"

"Is that just so you can see the barista you're so infatuated with?"

"Don't you have work to do?" Natsuya shot right back at him, heading back toward the door and slipping his shoes back on before calling out to Ikuya "I'll be back soon, try not to pass out until I get back?"

A hum was the only response he got as Ikuya finally settled on one of the two arrangements, wrapping the stems with floral tape and barely acknowledging the door shutting behind Natsuya.

Although he had been outside just moments earlier, Natsuya found himself pulling his jacket around him tighter, the breeze chilling him despite the earlier summer heat and it only served to encourage him to walk faster.

It was definitely nothing to do with being excited to see a certain silver-haired barista...of course not.

He wasn't sure how late the cafe was open however, he was pretty sure he had seen the lights still on when he had passed on his way home, hoping to any god out there that he wouldn't have to wander around looking for a different coffee shop.

He rounded the corner, ending up on the street that housed the cafe, and coming to a stop outside the door.

Although the lights were still on, the sign on the door had been spun around indicating that they were closed, ripping a frustrated sigh out of his mouth as he spun around with the thought of finding another cafe.

He didn't get the chance to even think about it however when he heard a key in the door and the familiar bell above the door chiming.

"Natsuya?" He spun around to come face to face with Nao, unable to hide his happiness. "What on earth are you doing here so late?"

"Ah," Natsuya reached up to run a hand through his no doubt messy hair "I just finished work, Ikuya's probably going to be up all night working so I'm on coffee duty. You're closed though so I can look for somewhere else,"

"Nonsense, we've only just closed, everything's still set up," Nao argued, ushering him inside.  
Natsuya immediately noticed the same barista who had been working with Nao the other day, this time dressed in casual clothes and gave a quiet greeting as Nao made his way behind the counter. "Ikuya's on his usual?" Nao asked, already making the order without waiting for Natsuya's response.

Natsuya hummed and Nao finished making the order, asking what Natsuya wanted, the brunet humming in contemplation.

"Surprise me?"

"Really?"

"Mhm,"

With a sigh Nao turned to grab another take out cup, placing it on the counter to begin making the drink, talking over his shoulder whilst he did so.

"I guess Ikuya's sleep schedule is beyond the point of being saved, you, however," Anyone would be able to hear the quiet amusement in Nao's voice. "You're not drinking caffeine at this time fo night,"

"Nao..."

Hiyori, who had been quiet up until now could no longer hold back his laughter from watching the scene before him playing out.

At times, Nao really did seem like a parental figure, his responsible nature often saving people from their own self-destructive tendencies, Hiyori included.

And it was always hilarious to watch when people weren't expecting it.

"You can't do this," Natsuya was whining now, slumped across the counter and despite Hiyori having only stopped by on his way home, he found himself sticking around if only to see how this played out.

"You said to surprise you,"

Another groan came from Natsuya as Nao passed the drink to him, a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows with syrup drizzled on top, however, Nao quickly shushed him, moving to finish cleaning down and lock up the cafe for the night.

Once Natsuya had left, the apartment was filled with silence once more and Ikuya let his head roll back against the sofa behind him as he continued adding flowers to the bouquet he was currently working on.

It was getting harder to decide where each flower should go with how his eyes were blurring from exhaustion and he found himself willing Natsuya to walk faster, unable to concentrate until he was shocked awake again by an unhealthy amount of caffeine.

It was clear that he wasn't going to get much done until then and so, he reached out for his phone which he had discarded on the sofa earlier, swiping his finger across the screen to unlock it and checking his notifications absentmindedly.

What he hadn't expected to see was a bunch of notifications from Instagram, seemingly all from the same person.

Despite his confusion, he opened up the app and clicked on the activity tab, scrolling through the seemingly endless notifications with a growing smile on his face

There were even some likes on his first few posts and he felt warmth flooding his chest at the thought, curiosity getting the better of him as he clicked on the person's profile.

Maybe it was someone he was friends with and had lost contact with?

As he scrolled through the profile and posts, he found himself becoming more and more confused. He was equally filled with a sense of familiarity and uncertainty at just who this person was because although something about their account rung a bell in his head, he couldn't think clearly enough through the sleepy haze that had settled over his brain.

Despite this, he clicked on the most recent post, letting himself get distracted further as he scrolled, getting lost in the account without even realising it.

Most of the photos were taken in various coffee shops and Ikuya found his interest piqued, which was clearly absolutely nothing to do with his so-called unhealthy reliance on caffeine.

He barely even realised how much time had passed until he heard the door opening, turning to see Natsuya awkwardly holding the door handle down with his elbow, pushing it open with his shoulder seeing as his hands were occupied by two takeout cups.

He kicked the door closed behind him, apparently missing the memo that it was the middle of the night if the noise of the slamming door was anything to go off and made his way towards Ikuya, handing his drink over and resuming his earlier position on the sofa.

"So you got a lot done, huh?" Natsuya asked, voice dripping with sarcasm as he took in the half-finished bouquet on the table and Ikuya's phone in his hand.

"Yeah," Ikuya took a long drink, shaking his head as if to help himself wake up "Clearly," He placed the drink down, trying to recall where he had left off "I really needed this, I thought I was going to fall asleep,"

"Can't have you sleeping before the sun rises, huh?" Natsuya was cut off by a yawn, the action ruining the effect of his words "Nao refused to give me caffeine so I'll probably collapse pretty soon. He said you're beyond help, sorry,"

"It's true though," After adding the last flower to the bouquet, Ikuya grabbed the ribbon he had been wrapping the bouquets with, securing the end before wrapping around to cover the floral tape. "You don't have to stay up to keep me company you know? I'm only halfway through these and I haven't even started the bride's bouquet,"

"What and leave you to talk to the flowers?"

"Depends how tired I get," Ikuya shrugged, hearing a grunt from Natsuya as he stood up but not having the energy to tear his attention away from his work as he started on the fourth bouquet.

"Try to at least get some sleep, yeah?"

Ikuya only waved off his brothers concern, biting his lip in concentration as he removed more thorns from the roses he was using.

_Curse roses for being a symbol of love..._

_Ikuya sure didn't love them, that was for sure..._

Time passed by in a blur once more as he continued to work, cutting off leaves and arranging the flowers around the centre so that the colours were dispersed, with different shapes and sizes throughout before he began wrapping the entire thing in tape and ribbon.

It continued until he had finished all five of the smaller bouquets, starting work on the bigger one, the knowledge that this one must be perfect residing in the back of his mind all the while as he worked, twisting and attaching the stems together so that the flowers sat in just the right position. He had long since finished his coffee and his eyelids begged him to rest, even for just a moment, however, he refused, determined to finish before resting, regardless of what offensively late (or early, he supposed) time it was.

By the time he finally finished wrapping the shiny white ribbon around the stems and had secured the ends of it, he could have sworn that the room had brightened by the rising sun, sighing as he placed the final bouquet gently inside one of the buckets, ensuring that the ends of the stems were resting in the water before bracing himself and checking his phone.

The white numbers glared back at him and he found himself struck by disbelief upon seeing the numbers before an understanding of just why he was so tired washed over him.

_3:57 am_

With a sigh, he unlocked the device, opening his camera app to snap a couple of pictures of the arrangements, just in case he forgot in the morning...or, later in the morning, accidentally allowing himself to get carried away as he opened up Instagram, selecting one of the best photos and typing out a caption.

His eyes flickered over the screen, checking for any errors before grinning triumphantly and pressing post, locking the device and leaving it on the table, making the decision to head straight to bed to hopefully get a couple of hours sleep before the bouquets needed delivering. It wasn't as if it would be hard to sleep with how utterly exhausted he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiyori account  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/barista-coffee-ZCW5B7GXFY  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/decor-coffee-EIB873F1MT  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/coffee-art-GZCFF9JJE7  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/silhouette-coffee-58W79YWLRL  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/lemon-tea-9URPWLOFYA  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/chocolate-hot-GEBMMDX5VW  
> Hiyori's post/s  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/chocolate-hot-GEBMMDX5VW  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/silhouette-coffee-58W79YWLRL  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/coffee-art-GZCFF9JJE7  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/books-market-UVRPTGPNJ2  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/books-library-3CNOEZPLFX  
> Ikuya post 1  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/still-items-S8PHUCA26U


	3. ◽ 3 ◽

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just got to edit the pictures and proofread the last chapter then this fic will be done! yay!

Hiyori had rather successfully managed to push the thoughts of Ikuya to the back of his mind for the past few days. Rather, his focus had been dedicated to the seemingly endless assignments due in the next week with any spare moment spent working at the cafe, leaving him no time to do...well anything really. His last class of the week had been yesterday but that didn't mean he would be able to take a break, having foolishly accepted an extra shift at the cafe, meaning he was now working all day.

Of course, he couldn't avoid his mind drifting to the seemingly cheery, sarcastic florist forever, especially not now that the morning rush of customers had died down.

Besides, he had already cleaned the worktops, ready for the next stray customer who decided to come in, so there was nothing stopping him from pulling his phone out and opening up Instagram, scrolling through his feed inattentively.

It was simply a form of distraction and mindless entertainment and so, he let his mind wander as he scrolled.

It was when he stumbled across one of Ikuya's posts again, this time on his feed that he remembered following his account the other day and he immediately recalled the strange sense of familiarity that he gave off, finding himself plagued with confusion and running through possible scenarios he could have met him in once more.

As if he hadn't thought over all of this enough already...

When his frustration began to get the better of him, he figured that he might as well suck up any uncertainty (or unwanted feelings of attraction) and message, after all, what did he have to lose?

He was most likely imagining this entire thing anyway, however, he had made his decision and he wasn't about to back out of it, quickly typing out a short message.

He clicked send and swiped back across his screen to his feed, continuing to scroll before the bell above the door chimed, alerting him to the customer who had walked in. He placed his phone down and got to work taking their order and making the drink, the process familiar, helping to distract him from the bubbling anxiety in his stomach that waiting for a response tended to cause.

There wasn't even anything for him to be anxious about, all he had done was send a simple message. Besides, there was always the chance that Ikuya simply wouldn't respond, not that Hiyori would blame him, especially seeing as they didn't know each other.

Hiyori handed the drink over with a smile, directing the customer to the table filled with sugar and sweetener packets along with wooden sticks to stir the drink when asked before grabbing a cloth once more to wipe down the countertops after rinsing it in the sink.

Whilst he was cleaning, he heard his phone vibrate where he had placed it on the counter, finishing wiping up the spilt syrup on the counter before rinsing the cloth once more and drying his hands haphazardly on his apron before picking up the device. The light at the top of the screen blinked at him as he typed in his password, being greeted by the same screen as before although this time with a red notification in the corner of the screen. He swiped to the side once more and saw the reply to his message in bold, clicking on it without a second thought.

It barely even occurred to him that a full-blown conversation had begun, however, he wasn't about to complain. Not only was talking to Ikuya giving him something to do to pass the time, but the florist was also ridiculously amusing to talk to. Between playful sarcastic remarks, quick enough even to give Hiyori a run for his money and frankly awful jokes which he somehow managed to make work with his unique sort of charm, Hiyori found himself enjoying the conversation. He even surprised himself with that seeing as he tended to dislike text conversations for many reasons including the seemingly endless autocorrect mistakes however, he actually began to find some of Ikuya's overexcited messages filled with spelling mistakes...cute?

He shook the thought out of his head and checked the clock for the first time today. Unlike usual, the day hadn't dragged on seemingly forever despite the same lack of customers as any other day and it was now mid-afternoon, nearing the time they would generally get a second rush of customers and so, he figured he should begin preparing for it, locking his phone and slipping it into the pocket of his apron before eyeing the worktops to ensure they were clean and set out ready.

And it appeared he had timed it just right as a few customers began trickling in.

The rest of his shift was sort of blurred, between the rush of customers and his conversations with Ikuya, it seemed to pass by quickly enough and he was soon cleaning down, mopping the floors and scrubbing the coffee machines before finally getting ready to leave, replying to Ikuya's last message before leaving the cafe and locking the door behind him. 

Over the next few days, Hiyori and Ikuya continued to talk which, although it hadn't exactly been Hiyori's intention, he wasn't about to complain. What he was going to complain about, just a bit, was how much his feelings towards Ikuya had changed in the past few days. Although at first he had simply been intrigued and a little confused whether they knew each other, Hiyori had found Ikuya genuinely fun to talk to and in the short amount of time they had been talking, he had grown fairly close to him. His heart had begun skipping a beat when his phone vibrated signalling a new message despite his stubborn attempts at denying his own feelings and he knew that it would only be so long before something went horribly wrong as things so often did in his life

That happened to occur a couple of days later, he was working a shift with Nao, having just finished up clearing a table, loading the mugs and teacups into the dishwasher before setting it off. There was currently a couple of customers in the back of the cafe and so, Nao was leaning againt the counter, phone in hand watching something with the volume turned up just enough that Hiyori could hear the slight murmur of someone talking.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" Hiyori nudged Nao in the side, receiving a sarcastic laugh in response.

"Very funny," Nao commented dryly, tilting the screen towards Hiyori who felt the air escape from his lungs.

Hiyori definitely hadn't been prepared to see Ikuya's username in the corner, the screen displaying a live stream with a half-finished floral arrangement on screen. He could hear Ikuya talking about something on the live however, he was too shocked to really pay attention.

"Wait, you-" Hiyori's mind was reeling, considering the possibility that he knew Ikuya through Nao somehow "You know Ikuya?"

Nao's attention had turned to him now, no longer paying any attention to the screen before him as he took in Hiyori's confused face, a flush steadily growing on his cheeks.

"Yeah, his brother is the guy I've been talking to recently," Nao's explanation didn't seem to help much as Hiyori's brain had seemingly short-circuited, stumbling over some sort of explanation for his strange behaviour knowing that Nao wouldn't let this one drop "Are you alright?"

"Yes! Of course," Hiyori let out an awkward laugh "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're acting as if you've just killed someone with how suspicious you're being," Nao fixed him with his best 'you're not getting out of this' look "Spill, what's happened with Ikuya?"

"How did you..?" Hiyori knew that he had blown his cover as soon as he saw the grin plastered on Nao's face

"I didn't, it was a guess. But now I know. So explain,"

Hiyori let out a sigh, trying his utmost to think of how he could leave out small details like the small crush that he had developed.

"Nothing much...We've just been talking," Hiyori refused to make eye contact with Nao, knowing that if he did Nao would see straight through him. "I thought I knew him from somewhere but couldn't work out where so I messaged and we started talking,"

"And?"

"And?" Hiyori repeated questioningly, quickly realising that there was no chance of him hiding anything from Nao.

"There's clearly more to this than that otherwise why would you react so much?"

Okay, so his cover was blown. Maybe it wouldn't be _that_ bad...right?

"Well...Maybe I sort of like him,"

And like that, silence filled the cafe.

Or maybe that was Hiyori exaggerating a bit. Either way, he waited, his entire body tense and anticipating Nao's response.

"You should tell him," Straight to the point as always, Hiyori immediately shot down Nao's suggestion with a shake of his head "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Is that even a question?" Hiyori sighed, raising an eyebrow "You know how bad I am at making friends, this is the first time I've talked to someone new in...a year? I'm perfectly fine staying friends, or acquaintances, or whatever label fits,"

"You clearly want to be more than that but hey, I won't push you," Nao held his hands up in surrender "But a word of advice," Nao leaned in to speak quietly in Hiyori's ear "You should really introduce yourself in person at some point, you've already met before but...Ikuya can be a bit dense, he's probably not realised yet,"

And although Hiyori was completely lost on just how he was going to do that, he nodded, effectively ending the conversation.

Luckily for him, he spotted a couple of customers approaching the door, giving them both something to do other than talk about Hiyori's love life.

Of course, Nao couldn't have left it at that though.

After they had finished up dealing with the surge of customers and had cleaned up a bit, he grabbed his phone, making sure that Hiyori wouldn't see as he pulled up Natsuya's contact, sending a quick message and immediately seeing the bubbles signalling that Natsuya was typing.

Clearly he had nothing better to do than wait for Nao's messages.

Not that Nao could complain too much considering the urgency of the message which luckily, Natsuya picked up on, starting up a fast-paced conversation about what solutions there were for Nao's current problem.

Nao hummed quietly, watching as Hiyori leaned against the counter opposite him, clearly beginning to get antsy over standing around doing nothing and an idea popped into his head, typing faster than he thought was physically possible and sending the message.

_This might just work..._

Hiyori sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day, refreshing his Instagram feed once again and seeing two new posts come up.

It was better than nothing he supposed, having spent the past hour or so scrolling helplessly through Instagram with no real purpose. This time, however, he saw a post from Ikuya, frowning with his head tilted to the side slightly in confusion.

The photo that Ikuya had uploaded looked familiar... _uncomfortably familiar_...

He didn't get much time to think about it however as the bell above the door chimed, signalling a new customer had walked in and so, he placed his phone down, turning towards the customer with a smile, ready to take their order and stopping dead when he saw just who was stood in front of him.

_Ikuya..._

No wonder that post had looked so familiar...

_It was the cafe that he worked at..._

Hiyori could only scramble to gather his thoughts as he realised just how dumb he had been. Of course, that was where he knew him from. He had come in the other day, the one who Nao had criticised for staying up too late, it all made sense and it did nothing but make Hiyori feel like the worlds biggest idiot.

"Hi...Er-Hello, what can I get for you?" Even Hiyori cringed at the way he stumbled over his words and he made a mental note to make Nao, who he was sure was responsible, regret his actions.

Of fucking course he was an awkward fumbling mess when confronted with his crush.

He had to snap himself out of his thoughts of how he could get back at Nao when he heard Ikuya speak again.

_His order...That's right he was still at work..._

So far this entire experience had been a mess and so when Ikuya recited his order, Hiyori ensured to repeat it in his head. The last thing he wanted was to follow up his awkwardness by forgetting his order.

He set to work making the order, hyper-aware of Ikuya's presence and the gaze he could feel focussed on him but trying his utmost to finish up the order without fumbling too much.

And when he did eventually finish up the second drink, Ikuya appeared to have gotten distracted by something on his phone and Hiyori prepared to call the order to grab his attention, changing his mind at last minute as a sudden wave of courage washed through his veins.

He searched the counter in front of him for the black marker they used to write names on the takeout cups when they got busy, popping the lid off and quickly scribbling his phone number on the side of the cup, considering it for a moment before doodling a couple of flowers beside it before replacing the marker lid with the hope that Ikuya would understand.

He dropped the pen back onto the counter before grabbing the other drink and sliding them across the counter as he called out the order.

Ikuya's head snapped up and he gave a sheepish smile, reaching out to take the drinks after slipping his phone in his pocket.

"Thanks," he smiled before giving a half-wave and turning to leave.

Hiyori was left with a grin threatening to slip into his face, feeling like he had finally accomplished something as Nao appeared beside him, his sly grin reaffirming Hiyori's suspicion that he had arranged it.

"It's alright, you can thank me later," Nao grinned, nudging Hiyori in the side and earning himself a half-hearted eye roll from Hiyori.

"Yeah of course,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ikuya's post  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/city-cafe-N5IUE5LITY


	4. ◽ 4 ◽

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I've started a university course so I've been a bit busy working everything out (That and I didn't have the pictures for this chapter edited...oops...)  
> But here is the last chapter...including some terrible photography by me because apparently the photos I needed were too specific ugh...

The initial shock had now worn off and Ikuya couldn't help the smile that was seemingly plastered onto his face as he stared at the scribbled writing on the cup and the doodled flower. There was no doubt about it now, the barista who had caught his attention when he had gone along with Natsuya to the cafe was the same barista who he happened to have started talking to.

And started falling for...

He shook the thought out of his head as he climbed the stairs up to the apartment he shared with his brother, hoping the door was left unlocked as he used his elbow to push the handle down and nudged the door open with his shoulder. Luck seemed to be on his side as the door swung open easily and he quickly slipped his shoes off in the doorway, kicking them to one side before knocking the door closed with his hip.

"Natsuya, I got your stupid coffee," He called to the abnormally quiet apartment, making his way to the living room.

Upon entering the room, he spotted Natsuya leaning against the back of the sofa, a grin plastered on his face, only serving to send Ikuya into defensive mode.

"What?" Ikuya couldn't disguise the suspicion in his voice as he handed his brother his drink.

"Just thinking I really should have sent you on your own sooner,"

"Shut up," Ikuya grumbled, knowing he couldn't get away from the teasing that was about to ensue.

"It worked then?" Natsuya must have caught the confused glance that Ikuya sent his way as he elaborated "Sending you in there, you finally realised who you'd been talking to?"

Ikuya simply looked at him blankly.

"You knew?" 

"Of course," Natsuya grinned triumphantly "It _was_ fairly obvious,"

"Way to rub it in," Ikuya grumbled, pulling his phone out as he took a seat, holding his drink between his knees, "I thought he was familiar but thought maybe I'd imagined it."

"You're hopeless,"

Ikuya chose to ignore that last comment, instead pulling up the messaging app on his phone and typing in the number scrawled on the cup. He had to pause and think for a moment before typing out a message, hoping to find the right balance between enthusiastic and overbearing

Hiyori had readily agreed which was how Ikuya had found himself a couple of days later mentally debating with himself over whether his outfit was too much. After all, they were only going to a nearby cafe, nothing fancy.

But Ikuya still wanted to make a good first impression.

Or third, technically.

He shook his head, eyes glancing over his reflection once more before accepting that if he didn't set off now he would be late, grabbing his phone, keys and wallet before rushing towards the front door where he struggled to pull his shoes on.

He walked quickly down the streets, having to stop and check the map on his phone briefly to make sure he was going the right way but he eventually found the right street, spotting the sign on the front of the cafe.

He glanced around after he pushed the glass door open, and upon not seeing Hiyori, he decided to go ahead and order before looking for a table, somewhat out of the way so they had at least some privacy but still easily visible so that he could keep an eye out for Hiyori.

The cafe was somewhat quiet, with it being mid-morning, however, it was clear how popular the cafe was if the number of occupied tables was anything to go off and Ikuya figured that whilst he was waiting, he could post something on Instagram, fiddling with the settings on his phone to take a couple of photos before opening the app to post one on his story.

He added some stickers and tagged the cafe's account, moving things around before posting the photo and locking his phone once more, placing it down on the table and looking around for Hiyori.

He wasn't left waiting for long as the brunet entered the cafe looking somewhat flustered as he searched the room for Ikuya, spotting him and sending a sheepish smile in his direction.

Ikuya held up his own drink before pointing towards the counter, hoping that Hiyori would understand his message. Although most likely not much use, he also mouthed what he was trying to say

_'Go ahead and order, I'm already sorted'_

Luckily, Hiyori seemed to get the idea, approaching the counter to order his own drink, thankful that there wasn't much of a queue at this time before collecting his drink and heading over to Ikuya.

Ikuya almost felt nervous as he saw Hiyori approaching however, he forced himself to calm down, remembering that this was _Hiyori,_ the same person he's been talking to for weeks without a problem. The thought made him smile subconsciously, after all, whilst he had enjoyed messaging Hiyori, he hadn't expected to actually meet him.

"Hi," Ikuya mentally kicked himself when his voice came out as a nervous squeak, face flushing red after just one word.

"Hey," Hiyori replied, the smile on his face surprisingly not teasing as Ikuya had been expecting "Have you been waiting long?"

Ikuya shook his head, trying to force his blush down and give a small smile.

"No, not at all. I honestly thought I was going to be late,"

"I suppose that makes me doubly late?" 

"Ah, nonono, you're good," Ikuya could feel himself slowly relaxing. Hiyori had been so easy to talk to the past few weeks and Ikuya remembered why now. Hiyori was calm, easygoing, it helped to balance out Ikuya's own hectic thoughts. 

They fell into a comfortable conversation, talking about everything from family to hobbies to childhood stories, it was almost as if they were still talking over text with how _easy_ it was. The fluttering feeling in his stomach didn't stop for a second however Ikuya found he didn't mind all that much. Anticipation and excitement were bubbling together into a confusing mess and although he wasn't completely sure what he was feeling, he didn't mind.

Everything felt so natural, as if they had been friends forever which, to Hiyori was quite a surprise. He had never had the best social skills, despite wanting to make friends. Most friendships he'd had were still filled with a degree of awkwardness with the exception of Nao and now Ikuya and he was filled with happiness at the thought. 

Making a mental note to thank Nao, Hiyori glanced down at his now no doubt cold drink, lifting it to his mouth unable to hide the grimace on his face.

"That bad?" Ikuya joked, noticing the expression on Hiyori's face. Hiyori hummed in response.

"The drinks here are apparently quite good," Hiyori said "At least, when they're the right temperature," He pushed the mug away from himself slightly which Ikuya took note of.

"We could walk through the park down the road if you'd like? Unless you want to order another drink?"

"Hm, that sounds good," Ikuya practically melted where he sat upon seeing the warmth of Hiyori's smile.

Ikuya felt a rush of confidence wash over him, standing up from his seat after shrugging his coat on and holding a hand out to Hiyori who took it gratefully, entwining their fingers together seemingly unaware of the blush on Ikuya's face at the action.

They walked in peaceful silence, enjoying the warm afternoon sun and swinging their arms slightly between them until they reached the park, Ikuya's excited voice interrupting the quiet upon seeing a small furry squirrel hopping across the path in front of them.

And if Hiyori hadn't already been convinced that Ikuya was the most adorable person on earth, the knowledge that his favourite animals were squirrels definitely helped to prove it.

The path was lined with various different flowers and Hiyori could practically see the way Ikuya's eyes sparkled as he reached down to pick a could of them. 

He turned to Hiyori enthusiastically, a small purple flower in hand as he reached up, slipping Hiyori's glasses off his face, something which normally would have caught him off guard. He watched as Ikuya carefully wrapped the stem of the flower around one of the arms of his glasses, unable to stop the smile that formed on his face.

Once he was finished, Ikuya held the glasses out for Hiyori to take back, a wide smile seemingly permanently etched on his face.

Hiypri slipped his glasses back on, head tilting to the side slightly with a fond look on his face as Ikuya spoke quietly.

"Hiyori, will you be my boyfriend?"

Hiyori struggled to find the right words for a moment with Ikuya clearly taking his silence the wrong way, stumbling over his words.

"I mean we could go on more dates first, I don't want to move things along too quickly if you don't want to, and we could-" He was cut off by Hiyori leaning in and pressing their lips together despite his internal panic that _he had never kissed anyone before_.

The kiss was brief, with neither of them really knowing what to do but the flush on Ikuya's face paired with his mouth slightly parted in surprise was definitely worth it to Hiyori.

"Of course," Hiyori finally responded in answer to Ikuya's question, neither of them able to wipe the stupid grins off their faces.

Okay, so Hiyori would definitely need to thank Nao later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ikuya's post 1  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/73/6d/9a/736d9ab58f5c68966519458e52ef599d.jpg  
> Ikuya's story  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/coffee-hot-M2O6X92LH5  
> Ikuya's post 2  
> https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5d/30/bd/5d30bd836ae45afebc13d729f600062f.jpg  
> Hiyori's post  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/coffee-latte-OJS3V9X8AQ

**Author's Note:**

> Playlist link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyL09Cyq-7OgedmchOzjRDp48xg0ogNg1
> 
> Photo links:  
> Hiyori's post 1  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/barista-coffee-ZCW5B7GXFY  
> Explore page  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/cafe-reading-G5BWBR2GJ4  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/coffee-hot-5QDBTLI6RR  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/cafe-window-NDIQFBYIHR  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/juice-cocktails-3YELAUQN98  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/alcohol-cocktail-VJNRNBCITJ  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/sea-beach-9Y7B28HZD1  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/wood-fence-NW30J9BEKK  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/cup-turkish-ENTBVSVWWR  
> Ikuya's post 1  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/bouquet-flowers-I5U0KA81R5  
> Hiyori's post 2  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/decor-coffee-EIB873F1MT  
> Ikuya's post 2  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flower-bouquet-ZD7VQOTJOA  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flowers-books-XKWL7SKFOZ  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/laptop-desk-5ZWVFTADET  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flowers-background-8F0ZARMHWK  
> Ikuya's account  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/abstract-background-DKNZ1YUOBT  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flower-bouquet-ZD7VQOTJOA  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flowers-books-XKWL7SKFOZ  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/laptop-desk-5ZWVFTADET  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/flowers-background-8F0ZARMHWK  
> https://stocksnap.io/photo/bouquet-flowers-I5U0KA81R5


End file.
